Key to Happiness
by Demonwolf
Summary: Oneshot. Just a little fic that came to mind last night. That's what happens when you stay up until midnight playing 'Kingdom Hearts 2.' Please R&R if you love BATB, you should enjoy this.


**Key to Happiness**

_I got this idea from playing Kingdom Hearts 2 over and over again. Personally, I was disappointed that Sora didn't have to fight Gaston in Beast's Castle. I was looking forward to seeing that cocky hunter trying square off against the Keyblade Master. In any case, this is just how I think events should be in the upcoming KH3. It's a one-shot, but it'll be nice and long. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own BATB or KH._

Three pairs of feet raced along a dusty road, dodging to one side every now and then to avoid the numerous trees. Had anyone beheld the small group from a distance, they would have simply seen two boys and a girl, dressed rather strangely, running hell-bent for the castle in the distance. But up close, the expressions of fear and worry the three children wore were extremely clear.

At the front of the group was a boy of fifteen years, with spiky brown hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in a black yellow outfit that seemed to radiate a strange glow from inside his very soul. Although small in stature, there was something about this boy, even while running, that bespoke of light and courage.

Directly behind him was the group's only girl; a red-haired, blue-eyed beauty dressed in a pink shirt and skort. She too, was small, but was actually the same age as the brown-haired boy. And like the first boy, she seemed to possess an inner light that was incapable of going out.

Bringing up the rear, presumablely so the girl would stay in the middle and was therefore protected, was another boy. He had silver hair and aquamarine eyes. He was a bit taller than the other two and looked a bit older. His arms were already well-muscled and he wore a yellow and white shirt and a pair of long blue pants. Unlike the other two, the light inside him seemed tinged with darkness.

As the castle came into view, the three speeded up, noting that gates were flung open. The first boy's brow contracted as the conversation with Belle and her father flew through his mind.

_He, Riku, and Kairi, happily returned to their island home, were enjoying a lazy day on the beach. They had just finished gathering paupou fruits, planning to give one to Selphie, when they suddenly found themselves being pulled toward the ocean. Before he could draw the magnificent Keybalde, the blade that had saved his life and countless others throughout his many adventures, Sora found himself standing in front of a cottage, his two friends next to him._

_The three friends had exchanged looks, knowing that, for an unknown reason, they had been pulled into another world. Sora's blue eyes darted this way and that, expecting at the very least to see Donald, Goofy and the King, but he saw no one. Instead, from the closed cellar door to his right, he heard the sound of banging and a girl's voice._

"_Gaston, let us out! You'll be sorry for this, you brute!"_

"_Sora, it's Belle!" Kairi had said, eyes wide. Sora nodded and without hesitation, pointed his Keyblade at the doors. A beam of light and the prisoners were released._

_Belle had run out of the dark room, closely followed by her white-haired and startled-looking father. Belle's expression of anger quickly changed to delighted surprise._

"_Oh, Sora! Thank goodness!" she had cried, running forward and embracing him._

"_Did you call us, Belle?' Sora asked, hugging Belle back. "And how'd you get trapped down there?" Belle gasped and released the younger boy._

"_Sora, it's the Beast!"_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_I had to leave the castle to help my father, but a hunter named Gaston tried to have him thrown in an asylum. He thought my father was crazy for talking about a beast." Belle's expression of fury returned and her father nodded._

"_If I didn't know better, I'd say that man planned this!" the older man exclaimed._

"_But why would he want to?" Kairi asked, looking nervous._

"_He tried to force me to marry him; he's been after me for a while now." Riku frowned._

"_I'll bet he said that if you didn't marry him, your dad would be locked up._

"_That's exactly right, Riku," Belle had said. She remembered Riku from when she had been kidnapped and was pleased to see that he had been freed from the darkness possessing him. She looked back at Sora._

"_I used a magic mirror the Beast gave me to prove my father was telling the truth about the beast. When I did, Gaston told the villagers that the Beast would kill their children and that he had to be killed. When I tried to stop him, he threw Papa and I into the cellar and led the villagers off to the castle. Please help the Beast, Sora!" Sora nodded._

"_You bet I will, Belle! Ready, guys?" Riku nodded, but Kairi had already started running for the castle, following the many footprints._

"_Hurry up, boys!" she had called. Riku and Sora briefly exchanged grins before running after her._

Knowing Belle would follow, the three friends had run as fast as they could in order to get to the home of the Beast. Sora's mind also flew to the enchanted objects he had met: Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and Chip. He hoped with all his heart that they had not been harmed.

Upon reaching the gates, Sora, Riku, and Kairi paused briefly to take a few deep breaths.

"Let's do this," Riku murmured.

"Yeah." Sora drew his shimmering Keyblade and ran for the castle doors.

The battle was going badly for the enchanted objects. The villagers, although outnumbered by the various walking items, were not backing down. Or at least, Lumiere noted, it was that black-haired hunter who wasn't backing down. Like a general, he ordered his troops right and left, attacking the castle's servants like mad.

"Lumiere!" The candelabra turned to see Babette the feather dusted gliding towards him.

"What are we to do? That man will stop at nothing!"

"_Oui, amour_. Unless a miracle happens, we will all be destroyed!" Already, Lumiere had almost been melted by a short fat man with a torch. Thankfully Cogsworth (who would've thought?) had jabbed that man in the rear with a pair of scissors, allowing Lumiere to help Babette, who had been in danger of being plucked by another man. Meanwhile, the leader-Gaston, he was called- just stood back and laughed.

Angrily, Lumiere decided that this man had to be taken down. With as much speed as he could muster, Lumiere raced toward the arrogant hunter, flaming hands extended. By a stroke of bad luck, Gaston happened to see his opponent. With a sneer, he drew a knife and prepared to throw it at Lumiere's head when, quite suddenly, something struck the blade in Gaston's hand.

With a shout of surprise, Gaston halted his attack on Lumiere. The object, which was silver and looked like a giant key hurtled through the air and then back to the front door. Lumiere, who had been watching it, felt his flames grow twice their size with joy. For standing in the doorway wad the miracle he and the others so desperately needed: Sora the Keyblade Master, flanked by two others who looked ready to fight.

Reaching up, Sora caught the Keyblade with no effort. He scowled at Gaston, pointing at the hunter with the magnificent blade.

"Get out of this castle," he said, not bothering to raise his voice. Gaston looked as though he had been struck.

"Who do you think you are, boy? And how dare you talk like that to Gaston?" he roared. Sora didn't move, his cool demeanor unaffected.

"I said leave this castle, Gaston, and leave my friends alone." Gaston sneered at the boy, who was barely half his height.

"Those children are friends of the Beast! Get them!" he yelled. Without hesitation, the villagers charged. Fighting three kids was preferable to fighting enchanted objects.

Sora frowned, tightening his hold on his Starseeker Keyblade in his right hand. Then, holding out his left hand, he summoned the Oathkeeper.

"Ready, you two?" he called. In response, Riku drew forth his own dark Keyblade, which he could still summon at will and Kairi drew forth the Three Wishes Keyblade, having found that she two could command a blade of light.

"Let's go," she said.

Without another word, the trio charged the villagers, who had halted after witnessing the children pull swords out of midair. But they prepared to attack again when the threesome charged. Holding out their pitchforks and knives, the two sides met with a will.

It took about ten seconds for the villagers to understand that they were not going to win. The two boys and the girl fought with an almost frightening expertise. And the first boy, the one with brown hair, he had _two_ of those strange swords! Nothing could stand before him. Quickly, the villagers forgot that they were at the castle to kill a monster, forgot that they were many against three, forgot that they were with _Gaston_ and ran for their lives.

Sora, breathing lightly, returned the Oathkeeper and rested his Starseeker against the ground. All around him, the enchanted objects cheered with joy and Sora smiled. Truly, this was what made all his efforts to keep the worlds safe worthwhile: the happiness of others.

"Sora!" The fifteen-year-old boy knelt down to see Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts approaching him, Riku and Kairi. The three friends knelt down in order to see the objects better.

"Everyone alright?' Sora asked.

"_Oui_, thanks to you,_ mon ami_," Lumiere replied, smiling at the boy.

"Oh, Sora, you and your friends really saved the day," Mrs. Potts said, smiling. Kairi smiled back.

"We were glad to. By the way, I'm Kairi and this is Riku."

"Ah, so you are the friends our young Keyblade Master was searching for? I am glad to see you back together again." Lumiere bowed and kissed Kari's hand.

"It appears as though every one of those villagers has gone," Cogsworth added. "And good riddance to those-"

"Luimere!" Babette came gliding across the floor, fear written all over her face.

"It's that man, Gaston! He has gone up to kill the Mater! I just saw him running up the stairs!" Sora quickly stood up.

"Kairi, can you stay here with everyone?" he asked. Kairi folded her arms.

"Because it's too dangerous for me?"

"No, in case of of those guys were thinking of coming back for another round." Sora grinned at his friend. Kairi smiled.

"You got it. You and Riku better hurry up." Riku nodded.

"Let's go Sora!"

"Right!"

"Be careful, you two!" Mrs. Potts called after them.

"_Oui_. We know you'll do it!" The two boys ran as fast as their legs could carry them up to the West Wing and just as they reached the door to the Beast's room, they heard an awful crash.

The Beast lay on his stomach, not caring about the rain that fell upon him or about the arrow that the hunter had shot into him. He also didn't mind the fact that the man had pushed out the window; really nothing mattered anymore. Belle was gone; she had raced to help her father, taking all the meaning in the Beast's life with her. And now, this man was here. Well, let him do what he wanted! There was nothing worth fighting for in the Beast's life anymore.

"What's the matter, Beast? Too kind and gentle to fight back?" Gaston sneered. Really, this animal was pathetic. How could Belle love _it_ when he was around? Gaston broke off a piece of the roof and walked over to where the Beast lay. Raising it over his head, the hunter prepared to strike the killing blow when a voice stopped him.

"Hey, why don't you try doing that to some one who'll fight back?" Angrily, Gaston turned to see the two boys, with their blades drawn, running towards him.

"You little-" Gaston struck out at them, but they avoided his blows and ran to the Beast's side.

"Beast, you gotta get up!" Sora said, looking into his friend's face.

"Sora?" Beast murmured, surprised to see his young friend kneeling in front of him.

"Here." Sora touched the Beast's wound and healed it with his Cure magic. Both Riku and Sora helped him to his feet.

"You're not gonna give up now, are you? The silver-haired boy asked. Beast raised his furry eyebrows in surprise. Was this the same boy had helped kidnapped Belle? It looked like him, but at the same time, this boy seemed more like Sora now.

"C'mon, Beast, Belle's on her way," Sora added.

"She is?" Beast asked, hope in his voice.

"You bet and she's pretty steamed at you," Sora added, turning to Gaston. "You're creep, you know that?"

"I think that's too nice a word for him, Sora," Riku added.

"I don't care what you think! Belle will be mine, no matter what!"

"Oh yeah?" Sora challenged. "You think you can just force a girl to like you? Well, you're wrong. And if you don't stop now, you're gonna be in real trouble!"

"Better listen to him," Riku said. "There's a lot of darkness in your heart right now. If you yield to it, you'll become a Heartless."

Gaston paused. There was darkness in his heart? No, these boys had to be lying. He was Gaston, not some filthy Beast. Besides, he could control darkness; he could do anything! And no Key-carrying boy was going to stop him! Gaston's mind halted when a voice cut through the storm night, like a sunbeam through the clouds.

"Beast!" All four looked up to see Belle leaning over the balcony. Her hair was loose and she was soaked from the rain, but her smile was like a shining star as she held out her hand.

"Belle!" cried the Beast, climbing up to meet her. He gently took her hand in his huge paw as Sora and Riku looked on proudly. Gaston, on the other hand was furious. Belle should have cried _his_ name and she calls to the monster? The treacherous wench! He'd punish her for that later. Right now, he had a mission to complete. Leaping into the air, he drew a short dagger and rammed it into the Beast's back. Beast roared in pain and threw back his arm, throwing Gaston off. Gaston landed on his feet, grinning horribly. Slowly, his blue eyes turned red as the dark ness inside him took control. He threw back his head and laughed to the sky.

"Look at me, Belle! You're mine now!"

"Gaston!" The hunter turned to see Sora pointing his key at him. A beam of light shot out of the tip and struck him. Horrible pain, like fire over dry wood enveloped him and he gave one last shriek of terror. The last thing Gaston saw before he subcommand to death were the eyes of the Keyblade Master; the eyes of Light.

Belle gently laid the Beast down on his back, noting his shallow breathing. Behind her, Kairi, Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts came running. They were met by Riku and Sora, who looked on with saddened eyes. Kairi grasped Sora's hand.

"What happened?"

"Gaston became a heartless and stabbed the Beast. We got rid of him, but it doesn't look good for the Beast." Indeed, just as Sora spoke, the Beast fell backwards and Belle began to sob. They heard her words.

"No," she cried softly. "No, please. Please don't leave me. I love you."

"Look," Cogsworth whispered. The friends looked behind them to see the Beast's enchanted rose, now looking withered and sad. Just as Belle's words faded into the night, the very last petal fell into the heap at the base of the jar. The three objects bowed their heads; their fate was sealed forever now. Kairi gazed at Sora, her eyes teary, but Sora shook his head. He had been told about the curse and shared his friends' dismay. If only there was something he could do.

"Hey, guys, look at that," Riku said softly, pointing at the fallen Beast.

Outside, Belle was still sobbing over her lost love as the rain pelted her. But now, beams of light were falling out of the sky as well. And then, much to everyone's surprise, the Beast began to rise slowly into the air.

Sora's blue eyes grew wide as he saw his friend the Beast transform into a young man before his very eyes. A paw became a hand, a hind leg became a foot, and a horned head became the face of a youth of about 21 years. Slowly, the now-transformed Beast floated back to the ground and as, Belle approached him, stood up. With his back to her, the man examined his hands, then turned to face the girl he loved.

"Belle, it's me," he said, though his voice missed the growling undertones. Belle touched his tawny hair, which was shaggy enough to pass for a mane, then looked into his eyes. They were blue, as blue as the Beast's. Her face grew into a huge smile as she exclaimed,

"It _is_ you!" The two embraced each other and kissed. Light swirled around them and flew into the sky like a rocket. Fireworks of light burst as the once-gloomy castle was transformed back into its original state. The three enchanted objects ran out to meet their Master and were changed back into their human forms.

"The curse really is broken," Sra said with a grin.

"Yeah, good for them," Riku agreed. Kairi grinned as Chip, riding on the footrest dog raced by them, was turned back into a little boy and swept up by his mother.

"Oh, my goodness," Mrs. Potts laughed."

"It is a miracle," Lumiere exclaimed, watching his Master and Belle hugging each other. The Beast, or rather the Prince, grinned.

"You're right, Lumiere, it is a miracle. And I know who helped make it that way." The Prince released Belle and walked over to where Sora and his friends stood and hugged all three of them at once.

"I can't thank you enough, Sora, Riku, Kairi. You really saved the day."

"Nah, we just chased some hunter out of your castle for you," Sora replied, placing both hands behind his head. "It was you and Belle who broke the curse, not us."

"Well it's good that you came when you did, or I probably wouldn't be here right now. You three are heroes!" The three islanders grinned at each other.

"It was nothing, really," said Riku.

"We would help you anytime," Kairi added.

"Well, please allow us to do something for you," Cogsworth said.

"_Oui_, why don't stay here for a while? I'm sure you'd love to attend celebratory ball in honor of our Master's wedding," Lumiere said, smiling at the children. All three of them grinned.

"We'd love to," Sora agreed.

"That's really nice of you," Kairi said.

"Should be great," said Riku.

_If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's Belle and the Prince._ Sora couldn't stop smiling as he watched the happy couple waltzing in the ballroom. Belle's father Maurice wiped his eyes every time his daughter passed. Beside him, Mrs. Potts stood, holding Chip tightly. Cogsworth stood off to the side, puffing himself up importantly. Anyone could see he was pleased to be back in charge again. Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood with Lumiere and Babette, all five of them content.

"Hey, Lumiere, are you and Babette going to get married too," Sora asked, turning his blue eyes onto his friend. Both Lumiere and Babette laughed.

"_Oui_, we are," Babette said, holding out a hand. On her finger was a small golden band.

"Lumiere already proposed to me, but then, with the spell and all, we weren't able to get married."

"And now you can!" Kairi exclaimed. The two adults nodded. Sora quickly whispered something to his two friends, and then drew something out of the pack that he had carried. Together, Sora, Riku, and Kairi faced Lumiere and Babette.

"Then take this, with our congratulations." In the six hands was a small star-shaped fruit.

"What is this, Sora?" Lumiere asked, meeting Sora's blue eyes with his own brown ones.

"It's a paupou fruit."

"It's a tradition on our island," Kairi explained. "If two people who really care about each other share, one, they will always remain a part of each other's lives."

"We gave one to Belle and Prince, but you guys should have one too," Riku added.

Lumiere and Babette gazed at the fruit, then back at their friends.

"Thank you, Sora, Riku, Kairi."

"_Oui,_ you three really are amazing."

"Hey, our pleasure," Sora said. And now, standing with his friends in the ballroom of his newly-married friends, the young Keyblade Master knew for sure that this part of his adventures really had been a pleasure.


End file.
